Delaware Stadium will serve as the host site of the 2013 DIAA State High School Football Championships Nov. 30-Dec. 1

Photo by Delaware Athletics

University of Delaware to Host Delaware High School Football Championship Games at Delaware Stadium Nov. 30/Dec. 1

By Delaware Athletics

Nov 14, 2013

NEWARK, Del. -- University of Delaware Athletics and the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association announced jointly Thursday that Tubby Raymond Field at Delaware Stadium will serve as the host site of the 2013 DIAA Division I and Division II football state championship games at the end of his month.

The doubleheader is scheduled to be played either Saturday, Nov. 30 or Sunday, Dec. 1 depending on whether the University of Delaware football squad is competing in the NCAA Tournament and is hosting a playoff game. Game times for the high school championships will be announced soon.

“We're thrilled to bring the Delaware High School Football Championship games here to the University of Delaware,” said UD Director of Athletics and Recreation Services Eric Ziady. “Throughout the past year we've made it a priority to proudly represent the State of Delaware on and off the field with all 21 of our athletic programs. To have the opportunity to host the top four high school football teams in the state in this playoff setting is sure to provide many lasting memories for so many of our state's high school student-athletes and their fans.

“In addition to the football playoffs we've also had the opportunity in recent years to host a number of state high school events including the basketball, volleyball, and swimming and diving championships as well as the annual Blue-Gold All-Star Football game,” continued Ziady. “As we continually strive to make improvements to our athletic facilities, we'll always do so with an eye towards attracting other state high school championship and all-star events to the UD campus.”

“We consulted with a number of people in the state who are involved in high school football and everyone was excited about the prospect of playing the championship games at Delaware Stadium,” said DIAA Executive Director Kevin Charles. “We have found in other sports that playing at University of Delaware venues provides an outstanding experience for the student-athletes and the fans. Almost from the time he arrived at Delaware, Eric (Ziady) and his staff at Delaware have reached out to us with their sincere desire to bring more events to the UD campus and this is a great example of our partnership. Their efforts provided DIAA with the opportunity to play our football championships at UD this year and we are thrilled at the opportunity to do so.”

Built in 1952, Delaware Stadium is a 22,000-seat facility with a FieldTurf synthetic surface, TV broadcast quality lighting, and a 42-foot wide video board. It is the largest football venue in the state and is among the largest facilities within the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Delaware Stadium has hosted 25 NCAA Tournament games in its history.

Delaware Stadium has hosted the annual Delaware Blue-Gold High School All-Star Game every year since its inception in the 1950’s as well as several high school regular season games over the last few years. However, this will be the first time that Delaware Stadium has hosted the state high school championship games since the 1971-74 seasons when the game was known as the DSSAA championship and a single title game was played.

The DIAA football state championship games have previously been held at various high schools throughout the state as well as at Delaware State University’s Alumni Stadium Dover.